General / Ralph Ellis / 14 May 2009 /

As he looks to add another title to his very young yet very illustrious career, Rory McIlroy had some slightly derisory comments to make about the Ryder Cup. But they are testament to his single-mindedness and determination, says Ralph Ellis.

There's no doubt Rory McIlroy is a golfer who loves his sport. After all he has a collection of signed golfballs that he hunted down himself as a starry eyed kid, chasing the greats up the fairways to plead with them for autographs.

So how highly does he prize the souvenirs of his youthful encounters with Ryder Cup captains like Nick Faldo, Sam Torrance and especially Colin Montgomerie? You begin to wonder after the 20-year-old from Northern Ireland admitted yesterday that he doesn't put the famous old trophy on the list of priorities for his career.

The thought will have gone down like a lead balloon with Montgomerie when they played together in today's Irish Open at County Louth. Monty is preening himself in his new job, happy to tell everybody how much hard work it takes. And here comes a kid who puts it all down.

"The Ryder Cup is a big spectacle for golf but it's an exhibition, at the end of the day," he said. "And I think if I get on it, win or lose, it will be a great experience. In the big scheme of things it's not that important for me. Golf is an individual sport at the end of the day. You have individual goals and my goals are to win tournaments for myself."

Monty came up with a tactful response, suggesting that when the youngster gets his chance to play for Europe he'll start to understand the pressure and status involved. And happily for the kid with the dream swing who is already ranked 19th in the world, it's unlikely he'll need to go looking to the captain for a wild card when the big event comes round at Celtic Manor in Wales next year.

In the meantime McIlroy's somewhat selfish views might upset a few more than just Monty, but they are probably no bad thing for his own career. How much importance does Tiger Woods ever seem to place on the bi-annual team battle, after all? The world number one stays totally focused on winning the big tournaments for himself, and if McIlroy drops into that mindset, given his talent, it could be no bad thing.

A quick glance at the Specials menu under golf reveals that McIlroy, who got his first significant tournament win under his belt back in February in the Dubai Desert Classic, is [11.0] to win a Major this year. He is also [1.06] to win no majors, and that's very tempting to try to lay that at about [1.1] and see if it gets matched. He's already shown his talent, and if he's got this sort of selfish and determined streak then it's well worth a punt for a breakthrough success before the end of the year.

Five things you might not know about Celtic Manor

1.The original building dates from around 1860 - the original owner Thomas Powell junior, a coal magnate, was murdered in 1869 while on Safari in Abysssinia

2.From 1940 to 1975 it was a maternity hospital. Many of the people who now book the hotel for weddings were born there

3.Converted to a small hotel with just 17 bedrooms in 1982, it won the Egon Ronay award for the best hotel in Wales every year until 1987

4.The Roman Road golf course, the second to be constructed as the hotel expanded to its current 334 rooms, is built around the site of a hilltop Roman military camp

5.Work on a third course, the Wentwood Hills, had to be stopped when diggers preparing the second green uncovered a Roman pottery kiln. The green was moved 50 metres to preserve the site.

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